Mining Incidents

Rein Schultz & Dahl of Illinois Inc; George L Comerford: 2 recorded fatalities controller

MSHA controller ID: M34986

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Email me when a new MSHA incident is filed at any mine Rein Schultz & Dahl of Illinois Inc; George L Comerford controls.

Fatalities
2
Total incidents
21
Mines on record
2
Years on record
1988–2005
Compliance record
MSHA citations since 2000
146
citations
33
significant & substantial
$70,250
proposed penalties
$50,523
paid to date
72% of proposed penalties paid to date, a $19,727 gap.
Source: MSHA violations data, updated weekly.
Inspection activity
MSHA inspections since 2000
53
inspections on record
1,570
inspection hours
9.3
citations per 100 inspection hours
This rate is recorded citations divided by MSHA inspection hours, per 100 hours. It reflects inspection effort, not mine size or production.
146 citations across 1,570 inspection hours.
Source: MSHA inspections data, updated weekly.
Penalty disposition
Differences between proposed and paid penalties reflect both settlements and conference reductions and amounts still owed. Outstanding is the balance currently owed.
$70K
proposed penalties
$51K
current assessed
$51K
paid to date
$165
outstanding
145 assessments are final orders; 11 contested dockets.
Of $62K in penalties contested before the Commission, $42K was upheld in final decisions.
As of the most recent assessment on 2006-03-13.
Source: MSHA assessed-violations and conference/litigation data, updated weekly.
Violation severity profile
Shares are computed over citations that carry the MSHA gravity and negligence coding; a small share of records are uncoded.
22.8%
significant & substantial
2.8%
high negligence or reckless
22.8%
reasonably likely or greater
58.6%
permanently disabling or fatal if injury occurs
Negligence coding: 0.0% none, 26.2% low, 71.0% moderate, 2.8% high, 0.0% reckless.
Source: MSHA violations gravity and negligence coding, updated weekly.
Injury rate, 2002
This rate is reportable injury cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers per year, computed as 200,000 times cases divided by MSHA operator-reported employee-hours. Cases are injuries MSHA graded degree 01 through 07; accident-only events that hurt no one are excluded, and so are contractor injuries, whose hours do not attach to a single mine. Rates begin in 2000, when quarterly employment reporting starts, and are withheld below 20,000 hours in a year.
5.08
total case rate
0.00
days-away rate
0.000
fatality rate
Above average. The US metal and nonmetal mining average was 4.17 and the all-US-mining average was 5.05 cases per 100 workers.
Under 100,000 employee-hours were reported that year, so a single case moves the rate by two or more. Read the figure as approximate.
Year total case rate days-away fatal
2002 * 5.08 0.00 0.000
2001 * 7.63 0.00 0.000
2000 * 2.89 2.89 0.000
* Fewer than 100,000 employee-hours that year; the rate is less stable.
Source: injury cases from MSHA accident and injury records; employee-hours from MSHA quarterly employment reports. Rate is cases per 100 full-time-equivalent workers, operator employees only.
Health sampling
A sample is a point in time compliance measurement, not an individual exposure history. These figures describe MSHA sampling records and do not establish causation or personal dose.

Metal and nonmetal contaminants (personal samples)
Many samples are screening measurements of substances with no applicable exposure limit; they are counted as samples but excluded from every over-limit figure. Over-limit shares use only limit-tested samples.

Last sampled: 2002-07-23, 24 years ago
20%
of limit-tested samples over the exposure limit
5
samples
5
limit-tested
Most sampled contaminants
  • Quartz, respirable, >1% Qtz51 over
Source: MSHA respirable dust, quartz, and noise sampling records, updated weekly. Metal/nonmetal contaminant figures come from MSHA's Personal Health Samples and Area Samples files (public record), updated weekly.
Contested penalties
A reduction or dismissal at the Commission is a lawful outcome of contesting a proposed penalty. Figures are the proposed amount and the amount upheld in the docket's decision.
Largest penalties this controller contested before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, with the outcome on record.
Docket Decision Judge Year Proposed / upheld
LAKE 2004-122M Settlement Zielinski 2005 $58K → $39K
LAKE20030046M Settlement Zielinski 2003 $655 → $328
LAKE20030004M Settlement Feldman 2003 $655 → $555
LAKE 2004-97M Settlement Zielinski 2005 $648 → $590
LAKE20030014M Settlement Barbour 2003 $634 → $444
LAKE20020152M Settlement Barbour 2002 $504 → $302
Source: FMSHRC civil penalty dockets and decisions (public record), updated weekly.

Top causes

Incident timeline

2005
1
2004
1
2003
3 (1f)
2002
2
2001
3
2000
1
1996
3
1995
3
1992
2
1988
2 (1f)

Operators under this controller

Mines on record

Fatalities under this controller

2 recorded
March 24, 2003 IL · Metal/Non-Metal mine manager, mine foreman, mine owner Fatality · MACHINERY
Lafarge Joliet Inc · Struck by falling object

EE WAS STRUCK BY A COUNTERWEIGHT, DESIGNED BY AMERICAN BIN AND CONVEYOR, INC OF FOURTEEN STEEL PLATES THAT WAS BEING LIFTED FOR INSTALLATION INTO A CONVEYOR ASSEMBLY TO CORRECT PROBLEMS EXPERI ENCED WITH THE NEW CONVEYOR, WHEN THE COUNTERWEIGHT FELL ABOUT SEVEN FEET.

May 13, 1988 IL · Metal/Non-Metal warehouseman, bagger, palletizer/stacker, store keeper, packager, fabricator, cleaning plant operator Fatality · MACHINERY
Joliet Sand & Gravel Company · Caught in, under or between a moving and a stationary object

BACKHOE BREAKER ARM STRUCK ONE EMPLOYEE AND CAUGHT ANOTHER EMPLOYEE BETWEEN THE EQUIPMENT AND FRAME. HYDRALIC HAMMER STANLEY 250 MB.

For insurers, brokers, and safety consultants

Where Rein Schultz & Dahl of Illinois Inc; George L Comerford stands on silica, penalties, and injury rate

MSHA's standard limits respirable silica to 50 micrograms per cubic metre, but MSHA publishes dust and quartz as separate files and never the silica figure itself. We derive it per sample, score it against the limit, and set the operator's injury rate against a benchmark built from the full MSHA operator record. With the 26-year penalty trail, contest posture, and fatality history. Delivered as a PDF with the underlying data as CSV.

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